Don’t wish away the little years and don’t wish them to stay. The first time this thought truly hit me, I couldn’t have been more grateful for it.
I now know and experience every day, what it is like to have both an infant, a toddler, and a teenager.
I am currently teaching at a high school level, kindergarten, and a few grades in between. I truly love it.
If you are a mom of littles, you constantly hear, “They will be gone in a blink.” While this is true, and I wonder where the last 14 years went from cuddling my son to him doing mother-son dances in the middle of the kitchen floor, now my height. Like where did the time go?
That being said, here are a few thoughts as the seasons change, and they will change.
Embracing The Season
Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, each beautiful seasons in their own way. The infant and toddler years take hard work and a lot of time as they learn new things.
At the end of the day though, your children bring so much life and yet, the emotions one pours into raising them can be exhausting. Getting up in the middle of the night with the baby, I get it, it can be hard. However, if you let it be, the season with your children is SO rewarding.
Spend those years cultivating a relationship with them this is your foundation for their teen years leading into adulthood. If you don’t invest time and energy into them when they are two, don’t expect them to be all about it when they are 18.
Next thing you know…
Too soon, your little people will be teens. When this happened to me with my two oldest I wasn’t quite prepared.
One day, I was taking a walk with my oldest son… It was a busy but beautiful day, so this evening walk was just what we needed for our weekly date/teatime. I remember as we were discussing some of the things that are important to him in life, and while I had been struggling with the fact that my kids were growing VERY quickly, I realized this though. The phase I was entering in his life was every bit as amazing as his little years.
He is becoming a young man of character, with big things and big plans in his mind. It was then and there for the first time, I had peace of mind to let the little years go for my teenagers.
Keep those memories stored that you created with them, cherish them always but don’t wish them back, to the point you can’t even enjoy who they are becoming.
Rather look forward to the things they have to look forward to. What are his dreams? I was once a little girl, now a mother, I don’t wish to go back to my childhood…
Don’t embrace the teenage season any less than the younger years.
A thought that really hit me as I get to know my teenagers in a new light is this; I don’t want them to feel that I embrace this season of their life any less than I did when they were young children. And repeating constantly that we miss or don’t want the little years to leave, can plant seeds of doubt in them.
Of course, we could tell them how much we LOVED those little years. However, we as moms need to live in the moment not in the past.
If you have littles it’s a good idea to fully embrace that. If you have teenagers, it’s a good idea to appreciate the younger years while truly investing in the relationship you have with them.
There is not enough time in life to wish seasons to stay or wish seasons to go. In the long run, one of the best things for us to remember is that we were called as parents to raise healthy adults, equipped to go out into the world and take the stage of life at the right time.
5 Ways To Enjoy And Cherish The Little Years
#1 Don’t wish the little years away and don’t wish them to stay.
Embrace the hard, embrace the easy. There is SO much joy in the seeming chaos so… embrace it.
#2 Moments will soon be memories.
One day every special moment you share with your littles will be memories you will carry through your whole life, whether they remember it or not, you will.
#3 Do less outside your home, so that you can be more present in your home.
Many times mamas are stressed out because they are extending themselves outside the needs of their home too much. Make sure you are not using your energy on people who can easily replace you with someone else. You truly are irreplaceable in your own children’s lives.
#4 Kids LOVE routine, they love to feel secure in knowing what comes next.
If your home is chaotic or even if routines just are not your thing… Look at it as creating a rhythm this is the best way to give both you and your child peace of mind.
#5 The sleepless nights will pass, and one day your child will stay in their bed every single night.
Although the long hours seem impossible to maintain with young kids, it will pass. A lot of parenthood is embracing and yielding to the season of life you are in. When you embrace the season, you stop worrying about the opinions of others, that is when you will truly start to find joy in the little years. At least that is how my journey worked.
5 Ways to Embrace And Cherish The Teenage Years
#1 I have a rule for my kids, they can ask me ANY question, they can question my parenting methods, they can question a chore they are assigned, they literally can ask me anything and I will talk about it…
My rule though, is that they are respectful when they do so. And that is not just a rule for my kids, if I want them to be respectful to me, I HAVE to show respect to them! Remember we as parents are setting the example for our young people throughout their entire childhood. So live out what you want them to learn and the characteristics you want them to develop. Our kids and especially our teenagers can spot a hypocrite a mile away!
#2 Keep a running list of the most important things to them.
If you can do this, this will create so many connecting moments and good times. Who doesn’t appreciate when someone cares about what they care about?
#3 One thing we have really seen in society as a whole, that even our teenagers remark on, is how parents talk about their teenagers.
People think it’s okay to talk about how horrible and terrible these years are… Speak life over your teenager, and watch them slowly change as you truly try to cultivate a healthy relationship with them. Your kids hear you, they feel what you feel about them. If it is hurtful, don’t expect them to run to you for mentorship, expect them to run to their best friends who may not share the same advice you would give.
#4 Take time to get to know them, go on walks, take them places, and give them experiences that they will cherish.
Spending time with them is the only thing that we have found truly works in building strong relationships with them. No amount of money can replace your time.
#5 Last tip here, if you and your teenager are struggling to talk and things are heated, gently tell them this…
“Hey, I want to make sure we talk about this, however, I want to make sure I am in the right head space and so are you. Let’s take a break for x amount of time and come back and revisit them once we have both had time to think and pray about it.
This diffuses a tense situation SO fast in my house. My kids know, that I will be back once I know we have enough time to think about it. You also, don’t want to go on acting as if they did something wrong. If you agree to set it aside and revisit it a little bit later then set it aside. I don’t treat them any less, I continue to treat them as I always do, with kindness and respect. Think about it, you would want the same courtesy and kindness if you were working through a hard issue with another adult…
Closing thoughts:
I know a lot of great mentors, we all do. When it comes to parenting think about what your younger self needed, start there. You are your child’s closest mentor and even if you make mistakes the fact that you come back and make it right, is what will speak the most into your child’s life of any age.
Again, it is the biggest waste of time to wish away any season of life that you are in. If this is how we as parents live our lives, it is time for us to make different choices for how we are leading our lives, and leading our children who are looking to us for guidance. Don’t guide your children into a life of discontentment.
Teach them how to redeem the time, to take deep breaths when life gets overwhelming, and to be a better thinker when it comes to solving hardships we ALL will come up against in life.
In real life, it won’t always be easy, no matter what stage. However, the best thing to do is to find joy in the season. Don’t wish away the little years and don’t wish them to stay. And mamas, enjoy, absolutely cherish the little years, but don’t be SO obsessed with them, that you forget to enjoy the teenage season and all the other seasons just as much.
If you enjoyed “Don’t Wish Away The Little Years And Don’t Wish Them To Stay” you may also enjoy checking out the post below:
31 QUESTIONS YOUR SON NEEDS YOU TO ASK
3 POWERFUL HABITS TO CREATE MORE CONNECTION WITH YOUR CHILDREN
5 MORE POWERFUL HABITS TO CREATE MORE CONNECTION WITH YOUR CHILDREN
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